Does Microsoft favor men when it considers promotions? According to one former UK executive and several additional sources speaking to Telegraph.uk, that may be the case. Natalie Ayres, the former general manager of Microsoft’s Small-Medium Enterprises and Partners group, said she expected a promotion to a managing director position after Alistair Baker moved on in 2006. However, Baker was succeeded by Gordon Frazer from Microsoft’s South Africa branch before she was even able to interview for the position. Microsoft paid Ayres more than £1 million ($1.5 million USD) when she decided to leave the firm as part of a “compromise agreement.” Read on for more. More →

Mobile connected device adoption picked up among women and older consumers in the second quarter of 2011, according to new findings from market research firm Nielsen. In the second quarter last year, tablets and eReaders were owned largely by those under the age of 35. The market has shifted significantly over the past year however, and consumers 35 and older accounted for more than half of tablet and eReader owners last quarter. 54% of tablet owners in the second quarter were over the age of 35, up from 38% in the second quarter of 2010, and eReader ownership among consumers 35 and older jumped to 65% last quarter from 55% in the June quarter a year prior. Where gender is concerned, eReader adoption among women ballooned to 61% in the second quarter of this year, up from 46% in the same quarter last year. Smartphone adoption inched up from 47% in the second quarter of 2010 to 50% last quarter, and tablet adoption jumped from 39% to 43% over the same period. Another chart from Nielsen’s report follows below. More →

According to recent survey, New Yorkers literally don’t have time to talk on their cell phones. In terms of rank, New York is #15 in the nation for total number of calls, yet almost dead last in terms of actual call durations. If you’re from New York, you’re probably shaking your head in agreement as we’re most likely to take a call while doing seven hundred other things; say what we have to say, and jump off. What state would you guess holds the title for most prolific cellphone users? That would be Georgia. Because everyone is friendly in Georgia. Some more quick data from the study: teens send almost 3,000 text messages a month, and women talk on the phone 22% more than men. Though I doubt anyone is surprised by those last figures… More →

This week, you might have heard that Apple removed over 5,000 applications from its mobile App Store. What did most of the apps have in common? Scantily clad women. Apple’s VP of World Wide Marketing, Phil Schiller, was quoted by the New York Times: “It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see.” Whatever the reason, the move did come as a shock to some developers. Fred Clarke, co-president of “On the Go Girls” said, “I’m shocked. We’re showing stuff that’s racier than the Disney Channel, but not by much. It’s very hard to go from making a good living to zero. For developers, how do you know you aren’t going to invest thousands into a business only to find out one day you’ve been cut off?” On the Go Girls had all fifty of their mobile applications removed from the App Store; the company was grossing thousands of dollars a day from downloads. Schiller went onto say, “We obviously care about developers, but in the end have to put the needs of the kids and parents first.” We’ve got the full Times article queued up for your reading enjoyment. More →